I’m standing in the parking lot of a gas station off Highway 11, gasoline fumes mingling with something far more intoxicating—the caramelized scent of frying dough.
The sign reads Sunny’s Donuts, but this isn’t just a donut shop.
It’s a portal. A crack in the universe where flour, sugar, and human resilience converge to create edible alchemy.
The First Bite That Redefined ‘Fresh’ – A Love Story in Glazed Dough
The door slaps shut behind me, and I’m enveloped in warmth that has nothing to do with the South Carolina humidity.
Rows of donuts glisten under fluorescent lights like edible jewels: sour cream glazed with their crackled crowns, buttermilk bars dusted with crystalline sugar, bear claws oozing almond paste.
A cinnamon roll the size of a hubcap winks at me from the corner.
But it’s the apple fritter that demands surrender. Imagine a cathedral of dough—crisp, fried lace giving way to pockets of tart apple, each chunk suspended in a matrix of dough so airy it defies physics.
The first crunch reverberates through my skull like a bell tower at dawn. Cinnamon sugar crystals dissolve on my tongue, followed by the buttery tang of dough that tastes alive.
This isn’t food; it’s a time machine. One bite transports me to childhood kitchens, to grandmothers who measured love in cups of flour.
Apple Fritters That Crack Like Thunder – Anatomy of a Perfect Bite
Sunny’s fritters are fractal masterpieces. Every fissure reveals new textures: shattering caramelized edges, steamy-soft centers, apples that retain just enough snap.
I watch through the service window as a baker ladles batter into bubbling oil, the dough spreading like golden lace.
The scent of fried dough and fruit compote hangs thick enough to taste.
But the magic extends beyond fritters. The cream-filled chocolate donut—a plush pillow of yeast dough—gushes with velvety custard that coats the throat like liquid silk.
The blueberry cake donut bursts with berries so juicy, they stain the dough purple. And the tiger claw—a bear claw on steroids—cradles a river of almond paste beneath its flaky armor.
From Refugee Resilience to America’s Sweetest Success – The Human Dough Behind the Magic
Behind the counter, Sunny and Lang work with the synchronicity of lifelong partners.
Their story reads like novel fodder: Cambodian refugees who rebuilt their lives through donut dough. Lang’s hands move with surgical precision as she pipes Bavarian cream into a chocolate-glazed shell.
Sunny flashes a grin while boxing up a dozen fritters, his catchphrase—“Have a sunny day!”—delivered with the warmth of someone who’s earned the right to say it.
This is food as legacy. Every donut carries the weight of their journey—the midnight dough-mixing sessions, the borrowed recipes perfected through repetition, the quiet pride in seeing strangers become regulars.
When Lang slides a free raspberry-filled donut across the counter (“For deciding hard”), it’s not upselling. It’s kinship.
Location: 720 S Granard St, Gaffney, SC 29341-1655
Phone: +1 864-489-2004